A look at who has control of the final playoff spots in the Western and Eastern conferences and what comes next.

A light night of action for the playoff tracker as only the Capitals, Coyotes and Sharks played on Thursday.Yet, there was still plenty of movement, especially out West.

Western Conference

— 3rd: Dallas Stars, 89 points

Thursday: Off. Dallas beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 on Wednesday. The win was a big one for their playoff hopes, and Glen Gulatzan said they'll stick with starter Kari Lehtonen for both ends of a huge weekend back-toback against the Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks.

"We're going to run with Kari here," Gulutzan told reporters on Thursday. "There was a (discussion of using Richard Bachman because of back-to-backs), but Kari is feeling pretty good right now. ... He wants to play and we need at least three more wins, so we've got to find them anywhere we can."

Games remaining: Five.

Next game: Friday, at Vancouver Canucks.

— 7th: Phoenix Coyotes, 89 points

Thursday: Defeated the San Jose Sharks, 2-0. Radim Vrbata added to his team-leading goal total with two goals, bringing him to 32 goals on the year. Ray Whitney also picked up two assists to give him 50 assists on the season and 999 career points.

Mike Smith stopped 38 shots to earn his sixth shutout of the season for the Coyotes.

In the early going, the Sharks tested Smith, but he was able to keep San Jose off the board.

"From the first drop of the puck they were firing on all cylinders," Smith said. "We kind of weathered the storm in the first period and got our legs going in the second."

Games remaining: Four.

Next game: Saturday, Anaheim Ducks.

— 8th: Los Angeles Kings, 88 points

Thursday: Off. Los Angeles beat the Calgary Flames 3-0 on Wednesday, a huge win for Darryl Sutter's Kings and crushing defeat for Brent Sutter's Flames. Afterward, the Kings' coach was more focused on how close the playoff race remained—not beating his brother.

"It's not about that, right?" Darryl Sutter told reporters after the game. "It's so tight. ... Brent and I talked this morning. What's the difference between six, seven and eight, nine, 10, 11? Like one inch. That's the way it is."

Games remaining: Five.

Next game: Friday, at Edmonton Oilers.

—9th: San Jose Sharks, 88 points

Thursday: Lost to the Phoenix Coyotes 2-0. The Sharks dropped their second straight game at the worst time. San Jose struggled to put the puck in the net on Wednesday night in a 3-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks and those struggles continued on Thursday night against the Coyotes.

"We had a ton of opportunities, some really good looks at the net, but it didn't go in for us," San Jose coach Todd McLellan said. "They capitalized on their chances, we didn't. That's the game. I keep saying we got to leave this behind and move on, but with four left we better make some hay quick."

Eastern Conference

— 8th: Buffalo Sabres, 86 points

Thursday: Off. Buffalo had two days between games after their big Tuesday win over the Capitals.

Center Derek Roy, who skipped Wednesday's practice with flu-like symptoms, practiced and should be ready for Friday. He's looking forward to the meeting with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the surging Penguins.

Thursday: Defeated the Boston Bruins, 3-2 in a shootout. The Capitals held a 2-0 lead with four minutes to go in the third period, before the Bruins rallied to tie the game, force overtime and eventually a shootout.

Brooks Laich scored in the fourth round of the shootout to help Washington keep pace in the Eastern Conference playoff chase.

"We are back on track," said Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin. "We are happy to take two points and take a big step." Ovechkin had two assists on the night.

Tomas Vokoun left the game for the Capitals near the end of the first period with an apparent injury, and Michal Neuvirth came on in relief to stop 19 shots.